Shimla, Mar 8 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, which will allow candidates to contest on party symbols, has been passed in the Assembly on Monday amid a walkout by the Opposition.

Tabled in the Assembly on March 5, the Bill was passed despite strong objections raised by Congress legislator Jagat Singh Negi and the lone CPI(M) legislator Rakesh Singha.

Objecting the amendments, Singha said if the Bill is passed, he would reserve the right to go to court against it.

The Opposition Congress said the Bill should have been passed after a proper discussion.

Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj stated that the HP MC Act, 1994 is proposed to be amended so that the candidates of the political parties may be allotted symbols reserved for them. 

Later, the Opposition walked out from the House. Subsequently, the Bill was passed.

Tabling the Bill on Friday, the minister stated that the elections to municipal corporations in the state are currently held on the basis of free symbols and the contesting candidates put up by the political parties are not allotted the reserved symbols. 

Therefore, the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 is proposed to be amended so that the candidates of the political parties may be allotted symbols reserved to them, he added. 

In order to provide stability in the municipal corporations, the provisions are also being inserted to provide for disqualification of members in case of defections, he added.

Further, the quorum for considering a no-confidence motion against the Mayor or Deputy Mayor is also being enhanced to three-fourths from the present limit of one-half.

Keeping in view the spirit of the article 243T of the Constitution of India, an enabling provision is being incorporated to provide for reservation in the Office of Mayor of the Municipal Corporations to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), he added. 

Presently there is no bar on the defaulters of cooperative societies to contest elections, he said, adding that therefore, a provision is being made that such defaulters will be disqualified from contesting municipal corporation elections. 

Besides, certain other amendments are also required to be carried out in the Act so as to make it more compatible with the needs of the hour, he added. PTI DJI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)